The History and Culture of Black Jews in America Essay

Throughout the history of America, there has always been a influx of Jews from Europe. Even though Emma Lazarus wrote her poem after the massive immigration of German Jews to America, her poem can be used to describe the Jewish Immigrants. Many German Jews arrived in New York " tired ... poor... [and] yearning to breathe free." While New York City was still a hub for German Jewish immigrants, some had also moved to Atlanta and more Western states. Several of the German Jewish families who immigrated to America will forever have their names etched into her history, through their central role as entrepreneurs in America's expanding clothing industry. They began from humble careers and worked their way up the proverbial food chain. Once

Since the beginning of time, individuals have been discriminated against based on their religion, culture, race, and sexual orientation. The article “How Did Jews Become White Folks?” by Karen B. Brodkin highlighted the struggles that European immigrants, Jews, and African Americans faced in the United States pre and post World War II. In her article Brodkin focused on the idea of “whiteness” in America, and how the word has evolved over time to include a variety of ethnicities.

As discussed in Racism, Jewish Europeans have historically been and continue to be viewed as separate from white Europeans, despite falling under the White category as being of European and Middle Eastern origin. Even those who converted from

A group that believes in its own superiority will do everything to live up to that image, outperforming other groups and in general staying ahead. The advantage of superiority is noted in a number of groups. The Jews have a long history of superiority, despite numerous hardships, founded in the very core of their religion; seeing themselves as a ‘chosen people.’ “Whether rooted in divine election, history, intellect, morality, or ‘a psychology without content,’ the Jewish sense of being somehow exceptional has lasted three thousand years and is unlikely to disappear anytime soon,” (64). Jews are one of America’s most successful groups, and one of the only groups with no clear sign of decay in that success.

Jewish Americans were subjected of anti-Semitic stereotypes and they are stereotyped as: as money-grubbing, social climbers, devious, and intelligent. The media in America often depicted Jewish people have a large nose, dressed all in black or garishly and often speaking in odd English. During immigrant waves during 19th and 20th century Jew anti-Semitic have been circulated. During 1880’s, plenty of Jewish Americans were excluded from Anglo-Protestant institutions (currently known as WASPs). There are one incident in 1877, a Jewish banker was denied by the Major New Yorker Hotel to provide a banker a simple accommodation. At same year, another Jewish American was barred from New York City Bar Association also New York’s City College completely

Throughout the 1800s and early 19th century, Jews continually emigrated from Europe to America. The most recent and significant episode of Jewish immigration to the United States was motivated by fear of the fascist Nazi regime that was quickly expanding throughout Europe. Jews fled to America and dispersed throughout cities and communities, escaping anti-Semitism and exploitation. America’s respect for equality and individual freedom allowed Jews to freely practice their faith, without fear of being persecuted. The United States government holds the Constitution in high esteem—the Modern Hebrew word for the United States is “Artzot haBrit” which literally means “The Lands of the Covenant.” This serves as evidence that America places the written law above all individuals, and requires that everyone respect the individual rights of all other citizens. The connection between the Torah and the Constitution is an important factor that helped Jews assimilate to America. The Hebrew word “Brit” translates to the English word covenant, and was the term used for “circumcision” in the Torah when a covenant was created between God and the descendants of Abraham and Isaac. Jews have always elevated the Torah, as Americans have elevated the Constitution as the ultimate arbiter of conflicts, both moral and political. Rather than a president or a religious leader being acknowledged as the sole source of state power, the written law has provided the guidelines that must be

Thousands of years pass and its the 18th century--the Enlightenment period has again brought up the question of the Jews. The creation of parlements, depending on where they were created, debated the status of Jews (Aliens or Citizens) as well as what type of rights should they have.

Today, we stand at a precipice threatening a definitive split between Blacks and Jews, and Jews of Color and Jews. The recent platform of Black Lives Matters denounces Israel as an apartheid state. A respect for the history of Black political thought demands we not forget Israel and Jews (of all races) remain a vulnerable minority.

When we think of Israelites we typically think of Christian Bale on God and Kings or even the everyday Rabbi walking the streets of Gaza. In this paper I will tell a story of an African that was born in America in the city of Chicago. Leading 48 families to the Promised land of Dimona, Israel, free of sickness or disease, free of crime, and honoring the Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Questions you might ask are who is Ben Ammi? Who are the Hebrew Isarelites? Who are the Jewish will be answered in this paper.

Jewish is a minority group is probable to be consumed by host society. This is something which is inevitable in the assimilation within society. Usually it takes place in several dimensions like cultural, institutional, residential, social and familial. However these dimensions are not dependent. For example in acculturation, this does not lead to residential integration. Even with residential integration, it might not lead to socializing across group lines. Theoretically, all kinds of acculturation and integration are compatible with continued group identity. Another form of total assimilation is the familial level integration of a minority group with he larger society. This eventually lead to the disappearance of the identifiable group. As

Antisemitism has been around for decades, the term first appearing in 1879 by a German agitator named Wilhelm Marr. Corresponding to all the other words containing “-ism” that became apparent in the early nineteenth century, they expressed hostility focused on a difference between politics and science (Hayes 4). Back in Ancient Rome, the Romans did not favor understanding the reason as to why Jews followed such customs and were monotheistic, refusing to worship the Roman gods and resting on the Sabbath. The Romans didn’t particularly view the Jews as dangerous or of any threat until they refused the empire’s authority. This lead to an almost complete dispersal of Jews from ancient Judea after 136 CE. The immense hostility towards Jews became more distinct during the rise of Christianity. The two religions had both similar and conflicting beliefs which stirred competition. Essentially, Christianity deviated from some of the central tenants of Judaism. They too are monotheistic and proclaim Jesus as the Son of God with the Holy Trinity (Hayes 7). The Jews viewed Christians as a new religion stemming from their theology with different variations. What is understood is that the Jews were the

Throughout history, hate crime has been evident through past, significant events. Events such as the genocide in Rwanda, ethnic conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the targeting of Native Americans in early colonial periods, and the lynchings of African Americans are mass-based hate crimes. Today, hate crime has become more prevalent with approximately 1,002 documented hate groups in the United States (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2011). More cases involving the violence of intolerance and bigotry appear, such as the murder of James Byrd because of his race and the killing of Matthew Wayne Sheppard because of his sexual orientation.

Throughout history, there has not been a more persecuted ethnoreligious group than the Jews; examples of their persecution can be traced back to Biblical times. Because of their mistreatment by other ethnic and religious groups, the Jewish people have formed a self-identity that is unlike any other cultural group in this world. There are three components that make up the Jewish self-identity: antisemitism and its effects, the image of the self-hating Jew, often a result of antisemitism, and the events and repercussions of the Holocaust.

Between 1939 and 1945 Jews were greatly discriminated and affected by how their lives were about to change. Jews were living a normal life until the German government began enforcing laws and affecting all Jews. These examples explain how Jews were treated and hurt by people just because they were Jewish. Jews were treated poorly before and during the Holocaust, and this made a big impact on Jews today. First, there were many many laws that were implemented against Jews. Next, the German government began to enforce social laws against Jews. Finally, the German government attempted to separated Jews from the rest of society.

Jews themselves have long believed that their history begins with the Patriarchs of Genesis and the Exodus from Egypt in the age described by the bible. However, it is important to note that the people described in much of the bible do not call themselves Jews they call themselves Israelites of the sons of Israel. The culture and religion of the early Jews and that of the later Jews differs in many ways. “The terms Jew derives from the name “Judah” but even in the Hebrew bible that term has several possible meanings, referring to an Israelite tribe, to a territory in the Southern part of Canaan, and also to the kingdom based in this territory and ruled by David and his descendants” (Efron et al. Pg. 1). After the end of the biblical period the term Jewish acquired many different connotations signifying a particular way of life. Jewish signifies a religion for some, for others a cultural or ethnic identity that is not necessarily religious and for others a national identity.